Katrina Brolly, one of the women whom gardaí admit to mistreating and abusing in custody, has taken the stand and begun giving evidence at the Morris Tribunal.
Mrs Brolly, who was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder following the death of Richie Barron in 1996, said she blanked out the post-mortem photographs of Mr Barron but they were pushed right to her face.
She also said she was told that Mr Barron would come back to haunt her but she told the interrogating gardaí she wished he would because he would tell them what happened.
She said her hair was pulled twice, a cigarette was pulled out of her mouth, and she was told her brother-in-law, Mark McConnell, was having an affair with another woman.
She said she was denied access to her husband and was told she would spend up to 14 years in prison.
The tribunal was adjourned for a short while after Mrs Brolly broke down on the stand as she recalled how gardaí threatened that her children would be taken into care.
Det Sgt admits to giving false evidence
Earlier, the tribunal heard that Mrs Brolly, and another woman held in connection with the death of the Donegal cattle dealer, were blameless and their treatment while in custody was inexcusable.
Detective-Sergeant John White admitted making a false statement, which he retracted at this morning's hearing.
He has also said that Roisin McConnell and Katrina Brolly were abused and mistreated during their time in custody.
The detective forwarded a new statement to the tribunal over the weekend which formed part of an unexpected and additional opening statement this morning.
Det. Sgt White admitted that his language during interviews was abusive, excessive and inappropriate and that he showed the women post-mortem photos.
He said it was made clear that his role was to break the suspects and that he was to be strident and aggressive.
The garda also said that the method employed in this investigation was similar to others over the years, and that the interview rooms at Letterkenny Garda Station were at all times bugged.
